sunset playhouse

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Well, spring has sprung and we can finally venture outside so why not get out of the house and head over to Sunset for one of our upcoming productions? April will be a very busy month at the Playhouse. Next week (April 7-9), our SideNotes Cabaret will present HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FOOTLIGHTS, an evening of Broadway show tunes. Then you won’t want to miss the Sunset premiere of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE*, April 21st through May 8th. This hilarious yet touching musical tells the story of six students who vie for the championship of a lifetime. Our final Musical MainStage concert of the season, RING-A-DING-DING: SINATRA & CO. (April 25-26), will swing to the sounds of the big band era with hits from folks like Frank, Ella, Bing, and Rosie.

If you are a season subscriber, you should have received your season ticket packet. If you would like to subscribe, please contact the box office and we will be happy to mail you subscription information. We offer both full-season packages and our popular Pick & Choose option which allows you to purchase four or more vouchers good for any show at any time and save money!

Finally, under the direction of Project Manager Jan Pritzl, work is underway on the creation of our new lower-level classroom/rehearsal hall. Thanks to a grant from Heart of Canal, we are excited to create this wonderful and much-needed addition for all our students and volunteers.

Grafton resident Erin Hogan has been named a Rising Star for Musical MainStage, a professional concert series at Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove. She will appear in BROADWAY BUDDIES on March 14 & 15th.

The daughter of Chris and Mary Helen Hogan, Erin is a junior at Grafton High School, where she has been seen in MARY POPPINS, THE SECRET GARDEN, and HELLO, DOLLY! She recently participated in the Florentine Opera Company’s Young Singer/Actor Intensive and has received top honors in Wisconsin State Choir competitions and from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Erin will join Doug Clemons, Katherine Duffy, Joel Kopischke, and Tamara Martinsek in BROADWAY BUDDIES, a tribute to musical theater duos like Rodgers and Hammerstein and Kander and Ebb. Performances are on Monday and Tuesday, March 14th and 15th.

Be sure to call our box office – 262-782-4430 – to reserve your tickets or buy online today. This is a show you don’t want to miss.

Sunset Playhouse is heading in to our 56th season of providing quality entertainment. What many people don’t know is that Sunset is also home to three professional series, including Musical Mainstage. Six times a year, these popular concerts revolve around a theme-everything from the Beatles to Gershwin and feature four professional singers, several accomplished musicians, and one ‘Rising Star’, a promising high school singer, in a 90-minute production.

Musical MainStage will hold auditions for next season’s performers on Saturday, April 18th from 9:00-3:00. In addition to our adult singers, we are looking for our next Rising Stars. The commitment for our Rising Stars is very limited-only four rehearsals, two performance days-and we use music stands so even memorization of the pieces isn’t a big issue. That means the time away from school work and activities is minimal. There are six concerts each season so we’ll be selecting six Rising Stars. In the past, several of our students have also been awarded small college scholarships after their Sunset participation. If you will be in high school during 2015-16, why not audition to be one of the Rising Stars?

We think this is a wonderful opportunity for young people to work alongside experienced performers in a professional environment.

You can find additional information about the auditions – just click here and go to our auditions page.

Last season Musical MainStage took a first bite out of this giant genre and the show was so much fun that our audience shouted, “Part Deux!” before we’d even left the stage. You won’t want to miss this exciting show which runs March 23rd & 24th in the Sunset Playhouse’s Furlan Auditorium.

Meet The Cast of SINGER/SONGWRITERS: UNPLUGGED

Tommy Hahn – This past holiday season, Tommy created the role of Tank Turrette in DEE SNIDER’S ROCK & ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE, part of the Broadway in Chicago series. Local credits include work with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, along with LES MISERABLES (Enjolras), RENT (Roger), THE MUSIC MAN (Ewart), and PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES (Eddie), all for Skylight Music Theatre. Regional credits include Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and Madison Opera.

Sara Hubertz – Sara loves a good hootenanny and is happiest with a guitar in hand. The Activities Director at Brookfield Rehabilitation, certified in “Music & Memory”, Sara brings the healing power of music to the residents in her care. She is excited to return for her third Musical MainStage production.

Brian Myers – Actor, singer, pianist, music director, and composer, Brian’s credits include AIDA, CANDIDE, CHESS, and MASTER CLASS. His original works have been presented by Milwaukee Opera Theater, Present Music, Soulstice Theater, Bunny Gumbo, Milwaukee Entertainment Group, and the Strawberry One Act Festival (NYC). THE FROG PAL, an adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale with book, music, and lyrics by Brian, will premiere this season at Sunset as part of its bug in a rug Children’s Series.

Heather Reynolds Coonan – Heather has appeared with Off the Wall Theatre, Boulevard Ensemble, Pink Banana Theater Company, and Windfall Theatre. Her favorite roles include Amy in COMPANY, Emily in THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO, Baby Doe in the BALLAD OF BABY DOE, and Mom to three beautiful little girls. This will be her Musical MainStage debut.

Our Rising Star!

Alison Pogorelc – A junior at Whitefish Bay High school, Alison’s credits include work with the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire, First Stage Children’s Theater, and Off The Wall Theatre. She won first place in the High School Musical Theater division of the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition, first at Wisconsin NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), and an honorable mention in the theater division of YoungArts.

Susan Loveridge and Bob Hirschi will weave a little background for the tuneage from the likes of James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Harry Chapin. Maybe we’ll get a little Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Carol King. This show pays tribute to the fearless artists who write and sing great music on guitar or piano, unadorned but for the heart, soul, and philosophies they wear on their sleeves.. Don’t miss this Musical MainStage show which will be presented:

Sunset Playhouse of Elm Grove – the gold standard of Community Theater providing Quality Theater & Educational Programs at affordable prices for more than 50 years is proud to present Will Durst in BOOMERAGING ON March 20th at 8:00PM & 21st at 3:00PM & 8:00PM.

You don’t have to be a baby boomer to enjoy five-time Emmy nominee Will Durst’s new one-man comic show, ‘BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG.’ In fact, from the looks of the audiences Durst has been attracting in the long-running show this year in San Francisco, everyone loves to laugh at boomers, even young folk!

A Midwestern baby boomer with a media-induced identity crisis, WILL DURST, according to the New York Times is “quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today.” This equal opportunity offender is exceptionally adept at swatting both partisan & political piñatas upside their heads.

Reigning as C-SPAN’s favorite comic – 8 appearances, Durst is a 5-time Emmy nominee & recipient of 7 consecutive nominations for the American Comedy Awards Stand Up of the Year.

He is the first comic invited to perform at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government & the first American to be nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the show “Myth America.”

He has racked up more than 400 television appearances in 14 different countries while slinging jokes around the globe in his one man crusade to make people laugh out loud on purpose against their will.

Getting old can be depressing, but Durst’s ‘BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG’ is a morale-booster for his audience. ‘I am not as old as my parents were when they were my age,’ he quips. ‘This is the oldest I’ve ever been & I’m beginning to sense a pattern.’

Will Durst promises to “reveal the meaning of life by the end of the show.” Boomeraging is indeed a wonderfully uplifting show so grab your hearing aids & canes & see for yourself. You won’t be able to stop laughing.

Looking for something fun to do this spring? Why not Audition for THE 39STEPS? This hilarious show features non-stop action and will be directed by Diana Alioto. We are looking for a great cast and crew for this exciting show. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Scripts are available to check out for a cash or check deposit prior to auditions. Auditioners will be asked to fill out an Audition Information Sheet prior to auditions; one may fill this out the night of the auditions or ahead of time by downloading the THE 39STEPSAudition Form.

Here are the dates of the auditions and information about the show:

Auditions: March 2 – March 3, 2015 (7-10 pm)*

Callbacks: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 (if necessary)

Rehearsals: March 16 – April 22, 2015**

Performances: April 23 – May 10, 2015

SYNOPSIS of THE 39 STEPS:

Hitchcock meets hilarious as Englishman Richard Hannay encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents and devastatingly beautiful women in this fast-paced whodunit. Part espionage thriller and part slapstick comedy, four actors play over 150 characters in this ingeniously adapted homage to film noir and theatrical stagecraft.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

All the roles in the play are performed by four actors. One plays Richard Hannay; a female plays the three women in the play; and two “clowns” play every other character, including heroes, villains, men, women, children, and even the occasional inanimate object. The following is only a partial list of those many characters.

Richard Hannay: A dapper English gentleman, Richard Hannay is bored until Annabella Schmidt comes into his life and starts him on a heroic and hilarious journey.

Volunteers needed at the Sunset Playhouse. Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity that is fun and creative? One that has flexible hours during the week and on weekends? If so, Sunset Playhouse is calling!

Sunset Playhouse, conveniently located near downtown Elm Grove, is searching for new volunteers who would like to get involved in all types of backstage work. It doesn’t matter if your only experience with theater is sitting and watching a play – the friendly folks at Sunset are eager to teach you all that you need to know.

The opportunities for volunteering at Sunset range from helping in the costume department to building sets, from helping out with children’s shows to running the light board, and pretty much everything in between. Sunset bases its success on the dedicated volunteers who give anywhere from a few hours a month to many hours a week in all areas of show production.

Aside from the excitement of being involved in a play or musical from the ground up, there are other perks to volunteering at Sunset. Free tickets to shows, invitations to special social activities planned exclusively for volunteers and the camaraderie of an instant “family” are among the benefits our volunteers enjoy. Many volunteers find themselves coming back again and again once they realize just how much fun they are having.

We invite you to come and tour Sunset and discover what volunteer opportunities are awaiting you. Call Kristen Kraklow, our Volunteer Coordinator, at 262-782-4431 and schedule a tour this week! Just remember, Volunteers needed at Sunset Playhouse so please consider joining us.